BeaverJ's 6th Birthday Trip to California

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to BeaverJ,
Happy Birthday to You....And many More........

For BeaverJ's Birthday this year we took him on an adventure to Northern California. The adventure started out with me and the two little J's flying to San Francisco to meet DaddyJ in Santa Clara.

Santa Clara is lovely town just south of San Francisco and a little bit north of San Jose. It is a great place to visit if you have ever used a computer! Yahoo had FIVE building surrounding our hotel alone. Every computer related company you have ever heard of has an office in that area, it’s sort of like being in Best Buy, only it is office buildings not peripherals.

The kids loved seeing the Lockheed Martin boulevard with is space operations hangers, massive satellite dishes, Dirigible hangers (think of the Goodyear Blimp) and a lot of security.

After a delay which was 1/2 of the total flight time we arrived in SFO only 90minutes late. The kids were great on the flight and we were all very excited to see DaddyJ who had been away for 5 days. Pleasantly he met us with itsy-bitsy dim sum buns, sushi and wine. What a great way to start the trip.

The next morning we woke up on BeaverJ's birthday and dashed off for some pancakes at the IHoP across the street as per the birthday boy's request. After dropping DaddyJ at his class we three were off to do a little bit of birthday toy buying at the nearest Target where all three of us had a great time walking around and around looking at everything.

Pictures from our IHoP breakfast. The picture of BabyJ and MommyJ were the newly minted 6yr old's first solo photographic efforts!

Just before noon we tuned in Disney Radio and headed off to wine country to see the California's Old Faithful Geyser.

"The Old Faithful Geyser of California is one of three geysers
in the world with the designation "old faithful." These are
the geysers that perform at regular intervals.

A geyser exists only where conditions are right. These conditions include a natural deep subterranean supply of water, a source of heat and a series of fissures, fractures and cavities that provide a path to the surface of the earth. Surrounding rock formations must be strong enough to maintain continual onslaughts of the intense pressure of steam and water explosions.

Water for the Old Faithful Geyser of California comes from an underground river. When this water flows over the hot molten magma deep in the earth, it boils and expands and is collected in large cavities. Under tremendous pressure from the heat, and assisted by a constriction of the passage upward, the superheated water is forced through the fissures and fractures and erupts
with an outpouring of steam followed by a fulmination of hot dancing water.

Under normal conditions, the water, the heat and the underground structure all remain constant and for this reason Old Faithful erupts regularly. Conditions which cause deviations from the normal pattern seem to relate to earthquakes. The Old Faithful Geyser of California is proving itself a predictor of quakes. "

The kids enjoyed seeing the geyser erupt only a few minutes after we arrived and it continued erupting for more than two minutes. Thankfully both LittleJ’s thought it was well worth the drive.

It certainly helped that the drive allowed us to cross both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges while seeing some of our favourite San Francisco sites like the Coit Tower, Alcatraz and the Street cars from previous trips! We had a light lunch while visiting and turned around to collect DaddyJ and head off to a birthday dinner.

Top Row: On the out to and through wine country and the un-erupted geyser. Second Row: Old Faithful of CA erupting. Third Row: The Wishing Well from a capped geyser. Forth Row: Having Fun, Eating Lunch and Learning about the geyser.

For his birthday dinner celebrations, BeaverJ picked a double decker Chuck E Cheese in San Jose. We played many many games in order to win him as many prizes as possible and all had a very enjoyable time. Without a doubt, BeaverJ was in his glory while playing games, listening to his birthday voice mails and reading the birthday wishes texted to him from his friends and family. Thanks to all of you who took the time to do that, it made him feel very special!

BeaverJ enjoying his birthday present of an iPod Shuffle (in green his favorite colour) loaded with his favourite songs and audio books!

We closed out the evening at the local In-n-Out Burger with a Chocolate MilkShake complete with singing birthday candle!

430 miles to go

The next morning we were off on our 430mile round trip adventure to see the Sequoias and Redwood trees in the central California area. It was certainly an ambitious undertaking on my part to travel that far in one day as the only driver with two small kids. Blessedly the scenery was so awe-inspiring, the car activities entertaining enough (new toys, birthday toys and lots of snacks) and all of the cars on the road exciting enough to keep the kids entertained for the long hours of driving.

The drive into Kings Canyon National Park was a very interesting one where we gained over 7000ft of elevation while crossing switchbacks on a road with rare guard rails, steep cliffs on one side of the road, and mountain on the other. There were several times where I wanted to wipe my sweaty palms, only I was to fearful of missing a turn and plunging the rental car off a 3000ft cliff to try driving with one hand! Lets just say that the Going to the Sun Pass in Montana will seem like a cake walk after that drive.

It always so interesting when you go see something that you have a conceptual understanding of only to be blow away. I can honestly say that the Sequoias and Redwood trees were even larger than any of us could have imagined. Truly seeing them in three dimensions in person has a way of making one and their life seem quite insignificant! It was amazing to believe that these massive trees had been grown from a seed which looks remarkably like a flake of oatmeal for over 1000 years into the largest living thing I have ever seen.

A partial slice of a tree that was 1700 years old. Each bit of white writing indicates a specific year's forest fires which are an important part of the cycle which allows the trees to become enormous!

We finally arrived at the visitors’ center where we learned quite a bit about the Sequoias and the environments they grown in. After that we drove a short distance to walk the General Grant loop to see America’s Christmas tree.

Pictures from the visitors' center, making a commemorative penny, the Rangers' electric car, and General Grant Loop.

The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. It was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army general and the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877). President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed it the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in 1926.

On March 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the tree a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war. It is the only living object to be so declared. The tree is the second-largest tree in the world, after the General Sherman.

The General Grant tree stands 81.1 m, and its diameter is the second-largest of all Giant Sequoias at 8.85 m with the Boole tree slightly stouter at 8.98 m. Its circumference at the base including broad root buttresses, is 32.8 m (108 ft).

Once thought to be well over 2,000 years old, recent estimates point to a much younger age closer to 1,650 years.

The purpose of this great drive which has me, remembering being dragged on "educational vacation visits" as a child! Thankfully this one seemed to be enjoyed by all participants.

The General Grant Tree, America's Christmas Tree!!!!!

Photos of the other impressive trees in the Grant Grove, the original Rangers Cabin aka Gambin Cabin , walking through a fallen tree, the lichen covered trees and the beauty of it all....
In the center of this collage is the California Tree which when it caught on fire needed to be put out by swinging from a nearby tree for fear that it would burn for WEEKS if left to it's own devices! It's a might impressive thing to see a tree which could burn for weeks from the inside out. Keep in mind all of the trees pictured are at least 150ft tall!!!

After visiting the Grant Grove I asked the little J's if they would be interested in driving another 30-45minutes through more Sequoia & Redwood trees to see the largest tree by volume in the world. Surprisingly they were excited and definitely wanted to head on to see the General Sherman. So we were off to climb to over 8000ft of elevation, dip down through some graceful switchbacks and through Sequoia National Park. Pelasently this was an easy drive.

The Giant Forest is an accurate description of the trees located Sequoia National Park. This is a grouping of some of the largest Sequoias on earth, which is to say they are comically big! While walking the trail it is very entertaining to watch the dumbfounded expressions on peoples faces (knowing full well it is a mirror of your own) as they try to comprehend the massiveness of these living organisms. I imagine it is somewhat like coming across a Blue Whale while swimming in the ocean, surreal! We thought we were prepared for just how large Sherman would be....

General Sherman is the name of a Giant Sequoia. It is the largest tree in the world, and generally considered the largest organism, as measured by the volume of its trunk (1487 cubic metres as of 2002). The tree is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States, east of Visalia, California. The tree is believed to be approximately 2200 years old.

It was named after General William Tecumseh Sherman, American Civil War leader, by naturalist James Wolverton in 1879. The tree was identified as the largest in a 1931 dispute with the nearby General Grant tree, after which wood volume was the widely accepted determining factor.

Needless to say we were ill prepared for just how mammoth this tree is!

Height above base 83.8 Meters 274.9 Feet

Circumference at ground 31.1 Meters 102.6 Feet

Maximum diameter at base 11.1 Meters 36.5 Feet

Diameter 1.5 m above base 8.25 Meters 27.0 Feet

Diameter 18 m (60') above base 5.3 Meters 17.5 Feet

Diameter 55 m (180') above base 4.3 Meters 14.0 Feet

Diameter of largest branch 2.1 Meters 6.8 Feet

Height of first large branch above the base 39.6 Meters 130.0 Feet

Average crown spread 32.5 Meters 106.5 Feet

Estimated bole volume 1,486.0 m³ 52,500.0 ft³

After visiting General Sherman we were off on the very long drive back to Santa Clara. Due to road construction, high winds and general night time driving conditions the drive which should have taken approximately 2.75-3.25hrs took 5 hours! The initial part of the drive as we left Sequoia country was spectacularly beautiful. My recommendation is that if you are driving out that way and you see the sign for the Photographic lookout point for the 11 Ranges view point, be prepared to stop. I figured "yeah yeah seen many ranges before living near the Rockies," well when I came around the bend I was EXTREAMLY sorry not to have been prepared to stop. It would have been a spectacular picture. So let this be a lesson to me for next time and for you if you are there, LOL.

Rides Rides and more Rides

As a pleasant break from driving to see the sites we were off to the Great American Theme Park for a fun filled day of rides, treats, air brushed tattoos and fun all around. It was fun to check out the Nickelodeon themed park after being in Disney in March. The highlights were the double decker carousel, Fintstone/Scoby-doo/Yogi Bear carousel and the boat race area. Hilariously the little J’s could not get enough of racing these little plastic boats down a mini rapids water course.

If you have time while you are in Northern California, the Great American Theme park is a wonderful way to spend the day. We look forward to going back in the warmer weather to try out their massive water park!

The Next day we enjoyed a quite day in our lovely hotel and once again perusing the isles of Target looking at every toy and all of the Halloween things carefully. Finally we were off to the airport to wrap up our BeaverJ birthday trip.

This was a wonderful way to spend BeaverJ’s birthday, we saw some spectacular things, learned quite a bit about nature, and had a ton of fun. What lucky ducks we are to have had the opportunity to go. I do hope to return to the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area to go camping one day…….

Best Wishes to you all always and happy wishes for all of your trips to be so exciting,

MommyJ

The September Long Weekend

The September Long Weekend was a busy weekend for our family. The weather was rather fickle going into the weekend so it appeared that we were not going to be able to go camping due to a 60%+ chance of rain on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Given that we had packed up in the pouring rain the weekend before I was not eager to repeat that, in particular when faced with the risk of thunder storms. Somehow being in a tent under a heavy canopy of trees while the thunder roars is low on the risks I am interested in taking with my life!
This turned out to be a good choice not to go camping on Friday night as there were major thunderstorms all night.

Saturday morning we woke up early to see grey ominous clouds on the horizon toward Banff and Canmore. The forecast was still showing high probabilities of rain over night and a possibility of snow in higher elevations! YIKES So instead we headed off for Nanton Alberta to visit Ultimate Trains and their Big Sky outdoor train layout. http://www.ultimatetrains.com/layout.php
We took the longer more scenic route out Highway #22 through Bragg Creek, Millarville, Black Diamond and Turner Valley where we crossed over to Nanton. It is a spectacularly beautiful area of the province with the Mountains, Foothills and Prairies on the other side. Now for those of you who have driven the 22 through these towns you know that there are several stops and turns. While waiting at a light I noticed a restaurant with a large sign saying “All Day Breakfast” and several people milling about outside of it. Now on grey cloudy days while traveling in the car with small children, “pancakes and all day breakfast” sound like heaven.

Heaven did it turn out be in the Chuckwagon Café 105 Sunset Blvd SW Turner Valley, AB T0L 2A0, Canada (403) 933-0003! DaddyJ had a massive stack of three perfect blueberry pancakes that were light and fluffy with hot blueberries inside of them and completely lacking in any gooey spots! The kids had Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes with lots of whipped cream and warm syrup. In an interesting turn of events I had Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict which was to dye for. It was a huge filet of smoke salmon, two perfect eggs (which DadddyJ got the yolks of of course) and a delightful hollandaise sauce. Normally I am not the one in the family to order Eggs Benedict as it is DaddyJ’s weakness not to mention that I will not eat egg yolks if I can avoid them.

After filling ourselves to the limit with their delicious food we head back onto the #22 for Nanton. The rain continued to drizzle on and off all of the way to Nanton making me thankful that we were not camping.

The Three J’s excited to see all of the miniature trains zipping around their route and looking forward to playing with all of the Thomas the Tank Engine toys.

The European side of the layout with the miniature gondola a personal favourite.

Visiting the North American side of the layout.

The Big Sky layout is always a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. One could watch the trains for hours, the children can play for hours with every Thomas toy known to man all the while enjoying some outside time. I highly recommend a stop at Ultimate Trains if you are ever in the Nanton area.

On the way back to Calgary from Nanton we noticed that the weather was beginning to clear. When we were almost at the city limits both children fell asleep. DaddyJ commented as we arrived home that I should check the weather again as thing looked to be clearing up.

To my great irritation after having both packed and unpack the car the weather was looking much better due the strong winds of the night before. I did a little bit of humming and hawing while DaddyJ convinced me that everything for camping was still mostly packed, we could get at least half way to Banff before either of the children woke up if we worked quickly.

I am pleased to report that we had the car repacked, cooler filled and were on the road within about 15minutes of making the plan. Granted the key was that the clothes and food we already organised. Both kids remained asleep until we were almost in Canmore, where we took a gamble to head onto Banff in order to try camping in a new location.We crossed our fingers and head on to Two Jack Lake. The lake-side campground was full so we headed a few more feet down the road to the non-lakeside Two Jack Lake main campground and found a great site. http://www.banff.ca/activities-events/summer/camping/two_jack_campgrounds.htm http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/visit9a-4a_E.asp

Our campsite with the fire going for dinner!

The official wiener roasting for dinner! BabyJ twirled her hot dogs like a pro and cooked the best ones of all of us. As you can see BeaverJ is wearing the hat I knit that day while on the road trip to Nanton, Calgary & Banff!

Our evening around the campfire.

I had been really looking forward to the opportunity to sit around the fire with DaddyJ and catch up about all of the things going on in our lives, what was to come with all the activities starting in the fall and reflect on how much our life has changed in the last year….

Sunday

Two Jack Lake, or Jack Jack as we J’s like to call it

DaddyJ reflecting on the fact that there really are lakes here in Alberta

Oh what a surprise the little J’s throwing rocking in the water!

The mountain goats on the road to Lake Minawanka

Following the heard….

One year Later…….

August 2006

August 2007

The first picture is of BabyJ & DaddyJ last year at the beginning of an epic journey for DaddyJ, our family and our lives. This moment will forever be burned in my head as DaddyJ finally admitted that there really are lakes here in Alberta. Apparently growing up on the Great Lakes colours your opinion of what a lake it!
Last year when this photo was taken DaddyJ was taking some much need time off as we contemplated where to go from the 70-80hour work weeks where he traveled 4 days a week 45 weeks that he had been working for the pervious 6 years! This was a momentous change for all of us.

One year later who could have predicted how much better off all of us would be despite all changes and the loss of some great perks. There is a Tom Chochrane song titled “I Wish You Well” and it perfectly sums up these two pictures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnUpaUHi1BQ The pain of all of the changes we made and the reasons associated with why they were made all fades so quickly in light of all of the wonderful things that have happened this year.

DaddyJ has spent so much time with the kids in the last year because he has been working here in town which allowed him to volunteer at the FoodBank, get involved with Beavers and BabyJ’s little classes like Gymboree. I had the opportunity to meet lots of new people and remember who I was outside of my house, spouse and children this past year. We have all grown and changed so very much in one year, each and everyone of us has changed for the better.For me this camping trip was a chance to tell DaddyJ that one year later I am convinced that we are better off in so many different ways. Who would have know that we as a family would be much stronger, cohesive and connected? If things had stayed the same we would have spent our summer heading off a few trips with DaddyJ in the US . While that would have been nice I am sure, we would have missed out on Beavers, Camping and the close friendship that Daddy J & DaddyW have developed. These memories this year it has been precious and I am so thankful for how fantastically it has all worked out!

Banff

Our lunch time picnic at Bow falls mostly enjoying watching the antics of the tourists!

BeaverJ enjoying a little time at the park with DaddyJ while BabyJ slept in the car!

Monday

Breakfast & DaddyJ's Bear impression.

BabyJ exhausted from a fun weekend and a large lunch at our favourite Canmore restaurant the GrizzlyPaw!

All in all it was an absolutely outstanding long weekend filled with different adventures, great reflections and special family moments.

I wish you all well and hope that in a year from now you two will be looking back at how much better you life is one year later!

Best Wishes Always, MommyJ